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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The smell of smoke
By Omayma Abdel-Latif
Ahmed Omar Hashem, Dean of Al-Azhar University, the scene of the confrontation between students and security forces last week, is also chairman of the People's Assembly Religious Committee and a member of the political bureau of the ruling NDP. He has said that Haydar Haydar's novel should be burned, a statement that stunned intellectuals. How does he justify such incendiary rhetoric?
Ahmed Omar Hashem
"If they saw or understood just a little of what goes on around them, they would have realised that the country was on the verge of a major crisis. The minister, indeed all those who approve of the publication of this novel, have shocked millions of Egyptians. He should have known better. His statement was provocative and fuelled popular anger. It is almost as if he does not live in this country, does not know what is happening around him. The statement of the Religious Committee, on the other hand, acted to absorb the anger and shock of the people. Perhaps he expected us to be hypocritical and claim that the book did not defame the Prophet. If he had been a true politician, he would not have allowed the publication of such a novel.
"For yes, it is a political issue and I don't believe Al-Azhar should have been involved. It is really an argument between Al-Shaab and the minister of culture. It is a controversy that has nothing to do with religion or culture: rather, other elements found it convenient to play on the religious sensitivities of Al-Azhar students, who took to the street in protest against the novel. By other elements I mean members of political parties, and some members of the Gamaa Islamiya. Tellingly, copies of an article published in Al-Shaab inciting Al-Azhar students in particular to come out in defence of Islam were distributed among students.
"The country is going through a tough time at the moment, and can hardly afford these kinds of protests. And it is for this reason that I say the minister acted in a politically naive manner. By acting differently he could have contained the anger and frustration of millions of Muslims who were hurt, though I believe, too, that there were other ways they might have expressed their anger. "Regardless of the genre, the book contained ideas about religion which were insulting. I read the novel, and it presents both the Prophet and God in a defamatory manner. Some of those who stood in defence of the novel have not read it, nor some of those who protested its publication. It is not the fault of the religious establishment, though, that this should be the case, it is the atmosphere of polarisation, of branding people, that is to be blamed. "The religious establishment is not weak but it is exposed to the same problems that afflict Egypt's entire establishment. The key issue here is reform on all fronts. Recent events serve to underline the urgent need for religious and political reform."
photo: Mohamed Mossad
